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Month: July 2017

Interested in building up your resume? NUS Enterprise, in collaboration with Professor Jack Sim, have an exciting opportunity for you: Hawkerpreneurs!

NUS Enterprise supports social ventures within the NUS community through various initiatives and programmes. They have been working closely with Professor Jack Sim in the past years on DBS-NUS Social Venture Challenge Asia, as he sat on their advisory board for the competition. Professor Jack Sim is the founder of BoP Hub and the World Toilet Organization, as well as an Adjunct Associate Professor at the LKY School of Public Policy.

Professor Jack Sim is starting a new project Hawkerpreneurs, with the mission to provide a promising and sustainable career option to PMETs in the food business, and at the same time preserve and improve our local hawker trade, culinary skills and hawker food culture. Here’s where you come in: Prof Sim is now looking for students to help in designing different lines of business for Hawkerpreneurs. Other than the usual food stalls, Hawkerpreneur is set to maximise the space of 9000 sqft – to be ready by the end of the year – through corporate and private events. Applicants should ideally have some experience in events planning, and Prof Sim believes that this will be a good opportunity for FASS students to put what you have learned into practice.

Allowance is on an ad-hoc basis starting next year, and allowance will be provided.

This was a report on the Department of Malay Studies at NUS Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. The department, formed on 1 March 1967, was then headed by Professor Dr Syed Hussein Alatas. To commemorate its 50th anniversary, the department is organising a series of events themed ‘Malay Studies 50 years’ (MS50). In conjunction with MS50, 11 undergraduates from the NUS Malay Studies Society will be organising an event titled “Mara: Malam Kesenian 2017” (Cultural Appreciation Night 2017). Other MS50 events include Syed Hussein Alatas Inaugural Lecture, CITASENI Pottery Exhibition and the Malay Studies Golden Jubilee Conference.

In today’s edition of The Straits Times, there was an article contribution by Ms Li Wenchao, a PhD student and Assistant Professor Yi Junjian, both from the Department of Economics at NUS Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, which explained the causes and consequences of cross-border marriages. They elaborated on “global hypergamy”, where marriage migrants are mostly women who move from underdeveloped areas to marry wealthier men abroad, showing a clear gender asymmetry. Based on their case study on Hong Kong, the authors tentatively concluded that global hypergamy would result in a new pattern of regional and gender inequality in the marriage market. They felt that as a typical destination country for cross-border marriages, Singapore would observe a rise in gender inequality along with the growing popularity of such marriages.

The article is part of a monthly series “Ask: NUS Economists” by the NUS Department of Economics. Each month, a panel will address a topical issue.

This was a commentary by Associate Professor Deborah Shamoon from the Department of Japanese Studies at NUS Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, in which she discussed the kawaii culture behind news of Mr Masao Gunji’s Guinness world record for having the largest Hello Kitty collection. Kawaii implies a social relationship between a subject and the object of his or her affections, where the subject feels a sense of compulsion to care for the object. Assoc Prof Shamoon noted that we tend to think of Japan as a conformist society and in some ways, the Japanese society is very rigid when it comes to the school system and in the workplace. But that at the same time, she pointed out, there is also a love of eccentrics – especially the artistic, the creative and people outside the system – who embody a freedom of expression, including the freedom from fear of ridicule or judgement. These include children, teenagers and old people. As such, Mr Gunji could go public with his collection because he is retired, and no longer has to conform. As an elderly person, he is also seen as a kawaii, a kind uncle sharing his happiness and personal healing with others.

Assoc Prof Lim will thus be representing Singapore at the 2017 Asia-Pacific Electone Festival (APEF) which will be held on 15 October in Singapore at the Capitol Theatre, and competing with winners from China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, Taiwan, and Thailand. Winner/s of the APEF will proceed to compete at the international-level Yamaha Electone Concours 2017 which will be held on 2 and 3 December in Osaka, Japan.

Last year, on 29 October 2016, the NUS Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music inaugurated the YST Electone Orchestra, of which Prof Lim was a part.

We wish Assoc Prof Lim all the best and every success in representing Singapore!

The Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences (FASS) held its annual Class Champions and Class Ambassadors Appreciation Dinner on 29 June 2017 at Picnic Singapore, marking the graduation of yet another batch of dedicated Class Champions.

As its name suggests, the purpose of the dinner was a simple one: to recognize and show our appreciation for FASS’ Class Champions, the leaders of the class giving effort for the graduating batch of their respective departments. This tradition exists to ensure that financially needy students will benefit from the same experiences as did the previous batches, and to make an impression on our students of the importance of giving back. Also in attendance were Class Ambassadors; members of the External Relations and Student Life (ERSL) team, including A/P Loy Hui Chieh, Vice Dean, and A/P Phua Chiew Pheng, Assistant Dean; Department Representatives, as well as Mr Chua Sin Chew from the NUS Office of Alumni Relations (OAR).

Armed with a bittersweet awareness that Commencement was quickly approaching, the students’ apprehension at starting a new chapter of their lives was nonetheless overwhelmed by the excitement of the beginnings of something new and rewarding. Teary goodbyes were also precluded, as the end of the students’ journey as Class Champions also marked their assumption of a new role: Class Ambassadors, whose role is preserve friendships and keep in touch with fellow alumnus; ensuring that they lose neither their friendships with each other, nor with the University and the Faculty, as they are kept updated on current happenings and upcoming events.

The atmosphere throughout the night was a lively one, as emcee Khoo Yi Feng kept everyone’s spirits high. As guests mingled over food and drinks, they were also treated to a surprise performance by Class Champion Lara Tay from the Department of English Language and Linguistics, who serenaded the audience with a number of hits that everyone couldn’t help but sing along to. The performance was quickly followed by games and a sharing session, which prompted much laughter from the guests.

The last segment of the night started with a presentation by Mr Chua Sin Chew from OAR, who highlighted the facilitative role that the University could play in organizing gatherings, such as by providing a venue free of charge. He also shared about several upcoming events from NUS Alumni, such as the upcoming Kent Ridge Alumni Family Day, and NUS Day of Service. This was followed by Ms Karen Wong’s presentation on the FASS Mentorship Programme, which encourages alumni who have since accumulated some experience in the working world to give back to FASS by mentoring current students and guiding them forward in charting a successful career path. The night concluded successfully with a lucky draw, as several students got to leave with special FASS mementos to call their own.

FASS would like to again extend our gratitude to our Class Champions and Class Ambassadors for their hard work in coordinating the Class Giving Effort, and for keeping each graduating class in touch with each other, as well as with the school. See you at the next gathering!